Argentina ambassador absent as United Nations offer silent tribute to Margaret Thatcher
THE United Nations (UN) Security Council paid a silent tribute to Margaret Thatcher apart from Argentina whose ambassador was absent yesterday.
Only 14 of the 15 council members rose in tribute as the Argentine UN Ambassador Maria Cristina Perceval had stepped away from her seat.
Immediately afterwards the Argentine returned to her seat to hear the Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo discuss the Boston bombings.
Ms Mushikiwabo expressed the council's "deepest sympathy" to Margaret Thatcher's family, according to Gulf Daily News.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was among those who rose and stood in silence in the memory of Lady Thatcher.
The South Korean diplomat had previously described Lady Thatcher as a 'pioneering leader' and that the UN will miss her 'great leadership'.
The news comes on the same day that the Argentine Foreign Ministry criticised Britain for launching military drills on the Falklands.
Christina de Kirchner's administration described the drills, which place between 15 April and 26 April, as a new act of provocation from the UK.
The Argentine government also filed a complaint with the UN about the issue on the day Baroness Thatcher was laid to rest.
A statement read: "[The drills] are a new show of contempt from Britain for the resolutions of the United Nations, which call for both sides to resume negotiations on sovereignty and to abstain from introducing unilateral changes to the situation as long as the dispute continues, as well as a new provocation against Argentina."
The Argentine President had not been invited to Lady Thatcher's funeral as Downing Street felt she had no personal connection with the former Prime Minister.